Last week we introduced a new menu bar. The old one had a massive 152 links to various areas of the site, which made it hard for those who didn't know the site well to navigate to various areas. The new one is designed to show everyone the key areas of the site. This is the first stage in many that will make the site much easier to use, for those new to ePHOTOzine, and those who have been around for months or even years.

We based the decision on the number of clicks each option had in the previous year. We found that there were a lot that weren't being clicked much at all, so they were removed. This has lead to some of our users struggling to find areas of the site and/or taking longer than they were used to.

Hopefully you're finding it easier now but one thing that has been highlighted is that there is a need for some users to be able to click straight to the area they want. One suggestion we'd like to make is utilising bookmarks, and rather than say that and run, we know that some people aren't familiar with how bookmarks work, so here goes (this article covers Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Safari using Windows 7):

Google Chrome

This is based on Chrome version 20.0.1132.57, it will automatically update when a new version is detected. To bookmark in Chrome, head to the page you want to bookmark and press the star at the end of the URL bar.

A box appears where you can change the name of the bookmark and place it in a folder, by default they will go in the bookmarks bar.

To view your bookmarks you just need to open a new tab and they'll appear under the URL bar, or you can press Control, Shift and B on the tab you are on. If you use Chrome on more than one device, you may benefit from signing up to Google as all your bookmarks will be available on all devices.

If you add a lot of bookmarks you will probably find that your Bookmarks Bar will become cluttered. You can organise them into folders. Click the spanner in the right hand corner, select bookmarks, then bookmark manager.

To add a folder, right click on the Bookmarks bar folder on the right hand side, select Add Folder. Give the folder a name. Any bookmarks you have created can then be moved into the folder by clicking and dragging.

Now, when viewing your Bookmarks Bar, click on the folder and your bookmarks will appear in a list.

Internet Explorer

This is based on Internet Explorer 9. If you haven't got the latest version you can download it from the Microsoft website. IE9 is available on Windows 7 and Vista.

Internet Explorer refers to bookmarks as favorites. To add a favorite, navigate to a page that you would like to add, and press the star towards the right hand corner. You can rename it as well as place it in a folder. At this point you can also create a new folder to manage your favorites.

To access your favorites you simply need to press the star again.

Mozilla Firefox

This is based on Firefox version 14.0.1. To ensure you are using the latest version, go to Help and select About Firefox. This will automatically check if your version is up-to-date, if not, it will be automatically downloaded. When downloaded you just need to click to update.

To bookmark the page you are on press the star at the end of the URL bar, pressing it again brings up a box where you can rename your bookmark and place in a folder (more on this later). Choose Bookmarks Menu to store them and they will appear when you press Bookmarks at the top of your browser.

If you add a lot of bookmarks you will probably find that your Bookmarks Menu will become cluttered. You can sort your bookmarks into folders. To make a new folder click View, go to Sidebar, then select Bookmarks. You are then presented with some folders. You can create sub folders by right clicking on one of the folders and selecting New Folder. You can then give this a name, e.g. ePHOTOzine Gallery. The new folder will become available when you are adding new bookmarks, any bookmarks you currently have can also be moved into your new folders by clicking and dragging.

Safari

This is based on Safari version 5.1.7. To see which version you have, click on the cog in the top right hand corner and select About Safari. The latest version can be downloaded from the Apple website.

When on a page you want to bookmark, click the plus button to the left of the URL. A box appears where you can rename the bookmark and assign it to a folder. There is also the option to save to a reading list if it's a page you don't want to keep for a long period of time.

You can manage and access your bookmarks via the book symbol in the left corner, on the line below the URL. When here, you can add new folders using the plus symbols that are at the bottom of the page.